Things went from bad to worse for the Northwestern Wildcats to start the 2023 season. Fresh off an embarrassing 1-11 2022 finish, their head coach since 2006, Pat Fitzgerald, was let go in July 2023 over hazing allegations.
It was decided that newly assigned defensive coordinator David Braun, who joined the team in January, would take over as interim head coach. He had just a little more than a month to prepare the team for the opening game kickoff.
As expected, the start of the season was a little rocky. The Wildcats started 3-4, which was an improvement on the previous year, but still disappointing, especially considering the number of seniors on the roster. However, Northwestern finished the season as one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten, winning four of their last five, including wins over Maryland and Wisconsin.
This strong finish and 7-5 debut record was considered impressive enough to earn Braun the Big-Ten Coach of the Year award, and a trip to the Las Vegas Bowl to face the Utes.
Offense
The Wildcats offense wasn’t stellar by any means this season. In fact, it was one of the worst in the nation. However, they did just enough to find a formula to get to seven wins.
Journeyman senior QB Ben Bryant, who has played at Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan, and now Northwestern, completed 62% of his passes for 1,585 yards, 11 TDs, and 6 INTs. He’s a pocket passer that typically elects to go with the safer short routes, but he does have the ability to sling it down the field.
The receivers are the strength of the offense, led by former Vanderbilt and Arizona St senior WR Cam Johnson, who hauled in 50 catches for 684 yards and 5 touchdowns as well as fellow senior Bryce Kirtz, who had 44 catches for 633 yards and 4 touchdowns.
The running game wasn’t where they wanted it to be, but senior RB Cam Porter finished with 618 yards 4 touchdowns on the ground. However, he never had a 100-yard rushing game this season.
Where Northwestern might have some trouble is on the offensive line. Senior captain and All-Big Ten Third-Team LG Josh Priebe has entered the transfer portal, and he had started every game. With him, they had given up 48 sacks this season. Only Wake Forest, Colorado, and Old Dominion allowed more sacks this season. Without him, it could be a long day for Bryant.
Defense
The strength of the defense is found in the middle, with senior LB Xander Mueller putting together an impressive season with 102 tackles, 5 sacks, and 3 INTs. Second-Team All Big Ten Bryce Gallagher, another senior linebacker, led the team with 110 tackles.
Despite having a defensive line laden with seniors, Northwestern’s defense was ranked last in the Big Ten in rushing yards allowed, giving up 159.5 yards per game on the ground. DE Aidan Hubbard was the team leader in sacks (6), and senior DE Jaylen Pate added 3 sacks of his own.
While they struggle stopping the run, the Wildcats are solid against the pass, where they only surrender 192.1 yards per game through the air, which is 24th best in the nation. That is due in large part to a secondary full of seniors, including S Rod Heard II, S Coco Azema, CB Jaheem Joseph, and CB Garnett Hollis Jr. Azema missed the last two games of the season but may be back for the bowl game.
Summary
Bowl games are always hard to predict. The long break, players jumping into the transfer portal or skipping the game to focus on NFL aspirations, and the overall motivation of each team are all major factors in making the game unpredictable.
Northwestern is deep in upper-classmen starters, and for many of them, this might be the last game they ever play. This experience has led to them being one of the best teams in the nation in taking care of the football with only 9 turnovers this season. Despite giving up 48 sacks, they only had 1 fumble the entire season, which was tied for best in the nation with Utah, Fresno St, and Ole Miss. Overall, they have a +10 turnover margin, which is 7th best in the nation.
Their strengths don’t matchup well against Utah. The Utes will want to run the ball, and they likely won’t throw towards the Wildcats veteran secondary often. Utah is also one of the best in the nation at attacking the quarterback and stopping the run, which should make it difficult for Northwestern to get much going offensively.
